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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25880044">How to (a)woo a space wolf</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DropsOfAutumn/pseuds/DropsOfAutumn'>DropsOfAutumn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blow Jobs, Canon-Typical Violence, Crash-Landing on an alien planet, Emotional Sex, First Kiss, Frottage, Gay Disaster Shiro (Voltron), Kosmo gets a girlfriend, Laughter During Sex, Love Confessions, M/M, Matchmaking, Mating Habits of Space Wolves (not explicit), Mild Blood, Mutual Pining, Non-Penetrative Sex, Not Season/Series 08 Compliant, Oral Sex, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Post-Canon, There's only One Bed!, Underwater Kiss, Underwater Sex, making out in a pond, very soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:42:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,774</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25880044</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DropsOfAutumn/pseuds/DropsOfAutumn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>From up close, Shiro can see the dark purple fur of the other space wolf, a stark contrast to Kosmo’s dark blue. Where Kosmo is light blue, the other wolf shows light lavender tones. The movements are softer, even graceful compared to Kosmo’s waddling, and when he thinks back to the wolves tending the pups it hits him.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“It’s a girl!” Keith whispers next to him, coming to the same conclusion. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>It makes sense, Shiro thinks. The purple wolves aren’t smaller because they’re younger – but because they’re female. </i>
</p><p><i>And the pretty lady in front of them is currently turning Kosmo’s head. He’s never met a female of his species before. His hormones must be running wild. </i><br/>**<br/>Or: The one in which they find a girlfriend for Kosmo</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith's space wolf/female space wolf, Keith/Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>229</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>How to (a)woo a space wolf</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>SHE IS HERE! This fic started as an idea on twitter back in December.<br/>As it sometimes is, the simple idea turned into 17K words, lots of pining and a lot of space wolf cuteness &lt;3<br/>I had so much fun writing this fic and I'm super proud that I wrote everything chronologically. (after my last 'longer piece' was stitching different pre-written scenes together, leaving me in a mess).</p><p>As always, I don't deserve <a href="https://twitter.com/appetixing">Christie</a> who fought through this whole monster with me and screamed so many lovely words at me because we're both the softest beans for intimate Sheith!</p><p>Important Note: Yes, this piece is E-Rated. This refers to a very intimate scene between Keith &amp; Shiro towards the end of the fic (see tags).<br/>There is NO explicit content of the space wolves, they are just wholesome floofs in love. </p><p>Hope you enjoy this piece, please let me know what you think! </p><p>Also thank you to <a href="https://twitter.com/shabbylines">Abby</a> for the cutest artwork for my twitter graphic. You can see the cute space wolf couple <a href="https://twitter.com/DropsofAutumn/status/1293972607965036545">here</a></p><p> </p><p>***</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Yup, the wing is pretty much done.” Shiro sighs, as he takes a closer look at the crash site.</p><p>It’s a mess indeed, completely broken in two pieces. There are several dents on the nose of their ship and she’s in dire need of a new paint shop. In case she will ever fly again. Judging from their crash-landing it might take a while for that to happen. </p><p>Keith’s head appears from where he’s crouched underneath the remains of the place where the wing has been attached to the ship – now adorned with a huge hole making them look right into their ‘bedroom’. At least that’s what they had liked to call the small compartment in the back of the ship, just enough space to fit a bunk bed and a small closet.</p><p>From where he stands, Shiro can see the remains of the upper bed, impaled by a rock.</p><p>“We’ve also lost the tires,” Keith explains as he sits up, wiping dirt from his spacesuit. “Fixing this could take a few days. Looks like we’re stuck here for a while.” The space wolf at his side nudges against his leg as Keith lifts his helmet before ruffling the spot behind Kosmo’s ear.<br/><br/>“You okay, buddy?” Keith cups Kosmo’s jaw with both hands, probably looking for wounds.<br/><br/>While they had the luxury of airbags and seatbelts, Kosmo had zapped away as soon as the landing got rough. They later found him huddled into a small alcove close to the engine room, his tail tucked between his legs. It had taken Keith a handful of treats and a lot of gentle pets to lure him back out.<br/><br/>Keith’s movement sends a single strand of hair falling around his ear and maybe Shiro stares a second too long, mesmerized.<br/><br/>To be fair, Keith always looks mesmerizing, Shiro has to admit. And it’s unfair, how even with his spacesuit covered in dirt and a bloody scratch on his face, Keith is still the most endearing sight on this planet in the middle of nowhere. It’s not Shiro’s fault he’s catching himself ogling.<br/><br/>Glad that Keith is busy with the wolf, Shiro clears his throat, trying his best to distract himself. “Let me contact Pidge, see if she can find out why our systems stopped working,” he says, the excuse a perfect one to turn around and stop staring blatantly into Keith’s face. </p><p>It’s one thing to travel the universe with his best friend, going on scouting missions while platonically sharing a bunk bed. It was another being head over heels in love with said best friend and trying his best to keep his eyes from focusing on Keith’s pretty smile. Or from the way his hair frames his face just right, the faintest shine of purple only visible if Shiro quints very hard. Or from the way his butt looks especially nice in the tight-fitting spacesuit, making Shiro’s pulse quicken every time he so much as bends over or walks in front of him. </p><p> </p><p>A month into this whole “universe bro trip” and Shiro already knows he’s doomed.</p><p>Today’s trip was supposed to be a regular scouting mission, one they had already done a thousand times before. Well, maybe not a thousand times. </p><p>More like ten.</p><p>Still.</p><p>After the war, Shiro had found himself taped to an office chair as the captain of a grounded intergalactic space station, signing peace treaties while missing the stars. He had fought half his life to get into space and then spent the following years saving the universe, so it felt utterly ridiculous for him to stay on Earth and shake various alien ambassador limbs for the rest of his days. </p><p>One time, Iverson had even come up to him and asked if he was considering retirement. </p><p>Shiro hadn’t stopped laughing during his call with Keith right after that. The way Keith had laughed along, his voice through the teleprompter clear and beautiful, was still ringing in his ears hours and days later, when Keith made a stop on Earth for a peace treaty meeting representing the Blade of Marmora with Shiro and an Olkarian ambassador. Very aware of their status as diplomatic representatives, Shiro still pulled him into a warm hug the second Keith’s cruiser landed. They spent the meeting sending dumb puns to one another and enthusiastically swooning over pictures of Kosmo.</p><p>Needless to say, Shiro, to this day, can’t remember what the meeting was all about. Not when Keith smiled at him, looking up from reading a particularly bad dad joke on his tablet and right into Shiro’s heart, his lashes far too long to let Shiro stay sane. Even in the dim light of the meeting room, Keith was glowing.</p><p>And Shiro knew he was falling hard.</p><p>In fact, falling even harder was inevitable, when he found Keith later that day, legs dangling from the Garrison’s roof and food in his mouth, serenading burritos with his hair bathed in sunset and Kosmo snoring next to him. </p><p>“Man, I really missed this,” Keith said between stuffing the wrap into his mouth. It was adorable, the way Keith fumbled with the tin foil and proclaimed his love for fresh food at <em> their </em> spot. </p><p>Like it was the most natural thing for them to gravitate back to each other, even after 15 years. </p><p>As if being abducted in space, an intergalactic war, being cloned, finding lost family, dying, and saving the universe had all been just side quests to get back to that same spot in the desert sunset. </p><p>And it was easy for Shiro to sit down next to Keith, cup his jaw, and tell him “I really missed you.” </p><p>Just as easy as taking the space wolf and Keith’s ship, placing a good-bye note on Iverson’s desk and leaving the atmosphere two hours later – heading for the stars and the unknown.<br/>They laughed when they heard Iverson’s angry voice over their comms, trying to lure them back to Earth. And Shiro hoped he did not imagine the faint blush of red on Keith’s cheeks when Lance’s voice was filling their cockpit, congratulating them on their honeymoon trip. </p><p>“Make sure to stop on New Altea once you’re done swooning over each other, Allura misses you,” Lance whistled.<br/><br/>Keith’s cheeks were glowing when he barked, “Get lost, Lance,” while Shiro’s eyes remained fixed on the stars in front of them. The second star to the right shone brightly as he caught himself wishing it would, indeed, be their honeymoon trip and not a getaway from responsibilities while he tried to act as if he was not crushing hard on his best friend. </p><p>His best friend who, again, had managed to save him by appearing out of nowhere and fetching him to the stars.  </p><p>In the end, they didn’t make it to New Altea</p><p>They landed in Daibazaal instead, fetching some of Keith’s clothes, stocking up on food and exchanging the camping cot Keith had used to sleep in with a bunk bed small enough to fit in his glider. After the bunk bed, they had left the Galran thrift shop with a few blankets, an old cattle and a cute Black Lion-shaped pillow – an artifact of Voltron merchandise Shiro found too endearing not to add to the pile of their utterly homely haul.</p><p>They left Daibazaal the next day after a warm hug from Krolia, the Black Lion pillow snuggling comfortably over a red comforter in what would become Shiro’s bed. And when Keith looked up to him over the rim of his purple mug once they had left the atmosphere, enjoying a coffee they had managed to snag from Krolia’s private stash, Shiro could feel the warmth of domestic bliss tingling in his toes. </p><p>If this was what falling felt like, he was happy to fall.<br/><br/>*<br/><br/>He was definitely not happy to fall. </p><p>At least not like this, 50ft from the sky, crashing into a rocky mountain and landing in the middle of a forest, somewhere on Romulus 4.</p><p>Three weeks out from Daibazaal, they had gotten intel from Pidge, asking to check on a distress signal from the planet. Their tiny cruiser had been the nearest coalition ship and both did not even bat an eyelash before accepting the mission. </p><p>It rewarded Shiro with a front seat row of the determined wrinkle on Keith’s forehead as he switched from autopilot to manual gear. And put a smile on Shiro’s lips as he settled down into his co-pilot seat to search their board-computer for more information on the Romulus system. Living the space outlaw life and saving people left him with a warmth that he had missed since Iverson had pinned the heavy Admiral medal onto his coat. </p><p>Romulus 4 seemed to have no intelligent life form, though local flora and fauna were striving. At least that was the last thing Shiro saw before their engine shut down and they tumbled to the ground, their landing anything but smooth. </p><p>They could count themselves lucky – the crash had left them with scratches, layers of dirt, and a broken visor on Shiro’s helmet. But no one was hurt.</p><p>He tells Pidge as much when he finally manages to kick the communication system back to life.</p><p>“Shut down, you say?” Her voice is distorted and chopped. Another part for them to fix, Shiro realized with a sigh.<br/><br/>“Yeah, right in the middle of landing. Maybe the same thing that happened to that ship sending the distress signal,” Shiro ponders, holding his thoughts for a moment. “Could there be anything meddling with the board computer?”<br/><br/>Pidge’s answer comes a few seconds late. It’s valid – she’s two solar systems away and their communication system is hardly functional. “Let me check on that. Anyone hurt? Do you have enough supplies?”<br/><br/>“Yeah, everything’s fine. Kosmo’s still in shock, but we’ll manage. I send you the readings as soon as I get the system to run again,” Shiro answers, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder to search for the space wolf. He’s nowhere in sight, but a vanishing space wolf is nothing new to Shiro. </p><p>He will probably find him curled up in Keith’s lap later.<br/><br/>“Copy that. I’ll contact Coran and see if we can send anyone to fetch you two.” Pidge’s answer catches Shiro’s attention again.<br/><br/>A quick calculation in his head tells him it will take at least two days for any rescue fleet to find them. Not taking into consideration whatever caused their crash. Sending reinforcement would pose too high of a risk at the moment.<br/><br/>“We don’t want to risk another crash landing,” he says, slow enough for Pidge to understand even with their distorted line. “Come back to me as soon as you’ve got any news.”<br/><br/>“I wi–” The line breaks abruptly and the smell of burned cables hits Shiro’s nose.<br/><br/>He curses. Crash-landing on a foreign planet and their communication system failing them seemed terribly familiar and definitely was not how he had envisioned their space road-trip.</p><p>At least he’s not alone. Keith had turned out to be the best companion to be stranded on foreign planets with – more than once.</p><p>As if his thoughts had conjured him, Shiro hears Keith enter the cockpit when he bends down to assess the mess of burned cables and singed electronics.</p><p>“Hey, have you seen the wolf?” Keith’s concerned voice fills the room. It’s enough for Shiro to turn toward him, stopping his actions.<br/><br/>“No, I thought he was with you.” The wolf is pretty capable of taking care of himself, they know as much. But they had just fallen from the sky onto an unknown planet. If Kosmo is still in shock from the fall, it might be best to keep him close.<br/><br/>“He wandered off in your direction. I assumed he wanted to check on you.” Keith tries to shrug casually, but Shiro can read his discomfort in his voice. In the way his shoulders are all tense.</p><p>Shiro knows better than to fake being the fearless leader. Around Keith, it’s no use, anyway. His hand runs over his face as he huffs, crossing the cockpit in three steps to get to Keith’s side. “Has he disappeared like this before?”<br/><br/>It’s not comforting when Keith shakes his head before he replies: “The landing was pretty hard, maybe he’s still trying to calm down.”<br/><br/>“Don’t worry, we’ll find him.” Shiro’s hand finds Keith’s shoulder, a comforting gesture that by now comes as easy as breathing.<br/><br/>“Thank you, Shiro.” Keith’s eyes are bright and beautiful when they look up at him and Shiro feels the sudden urge to tear the whole planet apart for Kosmo.</p><p>How hard could it be to find one space wolf on a lonely planet?<br/><br/>**<br/><br/>A short while later, they don’t find a single space wolf. </p><p>To be exact, they find a whole pack. </p><p>There’s a spring close to their wreckage, hidden in a forest of green and blue hues. As they approach, they hear the shuffle of paws and a familiar howling. And Shiro can sense Keith’s steps hasten at the sound as they approach a clearing. </p><p>A movement in his eye makes him pull Keith back before he can breach the bushes, just in time for two figures to jump into the clearing a few feet away. They are clearly distracted, sniffing each other, not noticing the human intruders. </p><p>The soft press of his fingers against Keith’s shoulder is enough to make Keith crouch down with him, the bushes hopefully enough to hide them from the creatures.</p><p>Now that they have stopped, Shiro can take a closer look – and he recognizes the very familiar shape of their four-legged companion.</p><p>Next to him, he can hear Keith hiss. “What the hell, those are...”<br/><br/>“A lot of Kosmos,” Shiro finishes. </p><p>Around the spring, at least twenty space wolves reside. Some are splashing underneath a small waterfall, others are laying on the stones, sunbathing. There is a group of purple wolves on the side and Shiro can see small movements around them, flashes of purple and blue zapping around the group. </p><p>“Are these pups?" he gasps, staring at what he thinks are space wolf pups. Keith had once told him how Kosmo did not even reach his knees when he’d taken him in and Shiro still is sad he missed tiny Kosmo. And two years of Keith’s life in the Quantum Abyss.<br/><br/>“Never thought there are others like him,” Keith whispers and in the corner of his eye, Shiro can see the bewildered expression on Keith’s face.<br/><br/>“There was no notice about space wolves on Romulus 4.” The briefing had been very detailed and neatly color-coded when Pidge sent them the information. Still, space wolves chasing each other or tending their pups weren’t on the list.<br/><br/>“Maybe they’re space nomads, traveling between planets?” Keith suggests, his gaze falling onto a group sitting a bit offside.<br/><br/>“That would explain the zapping,” Shiro agrees, following Keith’s line of sight. </p><p>About four purple wolves are resting in the shadows of the trees, all of them definitely shorter and leaner than Kosmo. <em> They must be younger </em> , Shiro thinks.<br/><br/>“Wow, I never thought we would come across more of his kind.” Keith’s words are hushed, nearly giddy, and it takes Shiro back to Keith’s first days at the Garrison, where everything was still shiny and new and he would grin like crazy every time he left the simulator.<br/><br/>“Well, he must have come from somewhere,” Shiro says, eyes fixed on the group of purple wolves. One of them starts stretching, a fuzzy tail wagging while they yawn heartily. The gesture looks so much like Kosmo it brings a smile to Shiro’s lips.<br/><br/>“To be fair, he fell from the sky one day. How could I have known he had a pack?” Shiro can feel Keith squint at him. There’s an endearing pout on his lips.<br/><br/>“Yeah, they should have sent a Christmas card.” Shiro’s laugh earns him an angry glare from Keith and a playful shove against his shoulder. </p><p>They stay like this for a few minutes, a comfortable silence falling between them as they watch the pack. Shiro loves the pups, the way they clumsily stumble over when they appear out of nowhere and accidentally crash into each other.<br/><br/>And still, they can’t spot <em> their </em> space wolf anywhere close to the pack. </p><p>“We should get going, Kosmo shouldn’t –” Keith starts, his body easing back up, but stops in his tracks when they hear leaves rustling close to them. A second later, the familiar blue snout of Keith’s wolf pokes out of the bushes, sniffing the ground eagerly.<br/><br/>Movement in the corner of his eye tells Shiro they aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed Kosmo’s sniffing. One of the purple wolves from before has left their group, curiously approaching the rustling bushes. </p><p>When they are only a few feet apart, both wolves stop in a heartbeat, staring at each other. Their sniffing seemed to have gone unnoticed by the rest of the pack and Shiro is glad. If space wolves happened to share similar pack habits with earth wolves, he really doesn‘t want to meet an angry father wolf biting Kosmo away.</p><p>From up close, Shiro can see the dark purple fur of the other space wolf, a stark contrast to Kosmo’s dark blue. Where Kosmo is light blue, the other wolf shows light lavender tones. The movements are softer, even graceful compared to Kosmo’s waddling, and when he thinks back to the wolves tending the pups it hits him.</p><p>“It’s a girl!” Keith whispers next to him, coming to the same conclusion. </p><p>It makes sense, Shiro thinks. The purple wolves aren’t smaller because they’re younger – but because they’re female. </p><p>And the pretty lady in front of them is currently turning Kosmo’s head. He’s never met a female of his species before. His hormones must be running wild.<br/><br/>This might be the reason that Kosmo resumes his sniffing, now even faster than before. They can see his eyes narrowed into slits and his former state of shock seems to vanish into thin air when he leaps forward, getting closer to the female.<br/><br/>Before Kosmo reaches her, a sudden movement catches Shiro’s eye. Combined with a loud growl.<br/><br/>“Keith, get Kosmo,” is all he manages to say as he scrambles to his feet.</p><p>It’s useless to hide now anyway, and Keith jumps up, heading for his wolf. </p><p>Before they can reach him, a big male wolf appears before them, tackles into Kosmo, and pins him to the floor. </p><p>He must be the father of the pack. </p><p>From the way he towers over Kosmo, he appears twice as big... </p><p>They hear Kosmo whimpering as the wolf bares his teeth, his growling even darker. </p><p>He doesn't care for Komso submissively winding underneath him as he snatches for him – and bites into Keith’s Luxite blade.<br/><br/>“You’re not hurting my wolf,” Keith hisses where he is crouched between Kosmo and the wolf.</p><p>It’s three against one when Shiro catches up with Keith. He might have left his gun in the ship, but his prosthesis is still hard enough to break a wolf’s jaw if necessary.<br/><br/>Luckily, it’s not. As soon as Keith lunges forward, growling, the wolf retreats, his tail between his legs.</p><p>Shiro falls to Kosmo’s side, making sure their wolf is not hurt.<br/><br/>Keith joins them again and there’s a tint of yellow in his eyes, his fangs prominent. But his gaze is soft when he gives Komso a pat, helping him up. </p><p>“I think it’s best we go back to the ship,” Keith suggests. </p><p>As they make their way back, Shiro throws a gaze back to the clearing, where a single purple space wolf watches them leave.<br/><br/>*</p><p>They check Kosmo for wounds as soon as they’re back at their ship. </p><p>Luckily, the only thing hurt is his ego, so they leave him alone as he curls up next to their makeshift campfire. </p><p>Dinner is a can of noodles they heat over the fireplace and two semi-warm beers as they watch the sunset, the wolf snoring at Keith’s feet.  </p><p>Shiro feels a shiver running down his spine when the sun has finally set and two moons are adorning the sky. Nights on Romulus 4 seem to get pretty chilly, especially with their heating pierced by stones.<br/><br/>“So, uhm,” Keith starts, but gets lost somewhere, fixing his eyes on the dying flames instead. His fingers wrap around the bottle.<br/><br/>“You okay?” The unease in his voice makes Shiro worry.<br/><br/>“The stones pierced my bed. ” Keith states and Shiro raises an eyebrow.</p><p>Oh. </p><p>Kosmo’s escapade earlier made him forget about the broken bed.<br/><br/>They definitely don’t have a spare camping cot in the ship, never thought they needed any. And sleeping in the pilot seat was an option Shiro discarded pretty quickly. He had spent enough short missions falling asleep in a cockpit to hate the prospect of three mornings with aching bones.<br/><br/>“Guess I’ll sleep on the floor then.” Keith empties his bottle in one gulp before he shrugs, too casual for his liking.<br/><br/>“Keith, no. You can take the bed,” Shiro disagrees, placing his empty bottle on the floor. Keith squirms slightly on the log before he answers. “I won’t let you sleep on the floor, because of me. I’m used to it. There were no beds on the space whale.”<br/><br/>“And...” Shiro has to swallow his feelings down before he makes the suggestions. “What if we share?” </p><p>“You sure?” There’s something swinging in Keith’s words Shiro can’t quite place.<br/><br/>“It might be a bit of a squeeze, but better than any of us sleeping on the floor?”<br/><br/>“If it’s okay with you.”<br/><br/>“Always,” Shiro says, a bit too sincere, a bit too in love. If Keith catches his longing gaze, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he sits up and reaches for Shiro’s hand.<br/><br/>“Let’s go to bed then,” Keith says with a smile when he pulls Shiro up as if he did not weigh twice as much as Keith. <br/><br/>And Shiro can feel a heaviness settle in his stomach.<br/><br/>They’ll share a bed, simple as that.</p><p>Nothing more and nothing less. Just another casual thing on this best-friend road trip that’s as platonic as it could get.</p><p>Seriously, Shiro tells himself when he brushes his teeth over the small sink in their ship. What is sharing the only bed compared to a crash landing on an alien planet and fighting a pack of space wolves?<br/><br/>Shiro is sure he will manage.<br/><br/>**<br/><br/>He won’t.<br/><br/>Not when Keith prefers to sleep in nothing but his underwear and his hair is sprawled over their pillows like that. Bathed in soft moonlight that falls through the huge hole in the wall.</p><p>The mattress is definitely not big enough to keep Shiro’s shoulder from bumping into Keith’s side and sleep doesn’t come easy. </p><p>Not when Keith’s skin is soft where they touch every time one of them breathes.</p><p>With every shift of his arm, Shiro can feel the body beside him tense. The thought of Keith being uncomfortable sharing the mattress breaks a small part in him.<br/><br/>Shiro had long stopped to convince himself he had not deeply fallen for the man who would drop everything on a whim and go explore the universe with him. Who would unconditionally save him over and over again. Who would tell him stories about far off galaxies until deep into the night. Who would laugh at his stupid jokes and laze around in their cockpit in nothing but his boxer shorts and his bedhead once their sleep cycle ended.</p><p>Shiro had also tried his best not to read too much into Keith’s lingering presence, into the way he smiled at him over a mug of coffee for breakfast. Into their late-night conversations and touches over their controls that lasted seconds longer than necessary. </p><p>And every time Shiro felt sure Keith could return his feelings, he ran into a wall. Shiro knows the signs too well. Keith’s body tensing, drawing away from him. A blush on his face while he stutters an apology and lets his hand run through his hair.<br/><br/>The tension in Keith’s body is telling enough. The last thing he wants is to make Keith uncomfortable.<br/><br/>But before he can sit up and suggest he’ll sleep in the pilot chair, he feels the soft press of Keith’s toe against his leg. It causes Shiro to turn to his side, where he is rewarded with Keith’s beautiful profile in soft blue hues. </p><p>“What are you thinking about?” Keith says, his gaze fixed to the ceiling. The viewport above is broken, huge cracks running over the glass.<br/><br/>It’s just like Keith to notice the weight on his thoughts. </p><p>‘I’m in love with you,’ Shiro wants to say. ‘You’re the most amazing person I know,’ lies on his tongue. And, like so many times before, he swallows the words.</p><p>“So, Kosmo’s in love, huh?” he asks instead, punching out a breathless chuckle to distract from his sudden shift.<br/><br/>“Seems like it.” Keith is short-spoken. It’s nothing new, Keith has never been a man of many words. And still, there’s a tension in his words Shiro knows too well. He’s concerned. </p><p>“How old is he anyway? Three?” Shiro’s question earns him a nod from Keith, barely visible in the dark.</p><p>“Coran gave me a space wolf talk on our way back to Earth,” Keith explains, rolling his eyes.<br/><br/>The thought of Coran giving Keith the space wolf shovel talk brings a grin to Shiro’s face as Keith continues. “Wolves on earth are sexually mature when they’re about two years old. They assume it’s about the same for space wolves.”<br/><br/>Shiro finds himself nodding along. “Kosmo has never met a female space wolf before. Of course, he’s going crazy.”</p><p>“We don’t know for sure if she’s female,” Keith says after another sigh. His eyes are still fixed to the viewport. </p><p>The worry on his face is a sight too familiar to Shiro. Leave it to Keith overthink Kosmo being in love. The role of a concerned dad fits him a bit too well. </p><p>Shiro feels the urge to wipe the stern look from Keith’s eyebrows, to sweep the strands of black hair from his eyes. It would be too easy to bend down and tell him to stop worrying.</p><p>Before Shiro can forget himself and let his finger wander, Keith groans. He pulls the blanket over his head in a swift motion. “Is this what concerned parents feel like?” The words are mumbled into the fabric, barely comprehensive.</p><p>Shiro chuckles as he dives beneath the blanket himself, staring into Keith’s disheveled face illuminated only by the glow of Shiro’s arm port.<br/><br/>“You just want the best for him, he’s your fur child,” Shiro says, as he shuffles closer to Keith. It’s hot and stuffy underneath the blanket. Here, hidden from the world, it’s okay to seek Keith’s proximity.</p><p>“Yeah. Still.” Keith huffs, covering his face with his hands.</p><p>“We can call her Nebula.” The way Keith squints his eyes at Shiro is endearing.<br/><br/>“Shiro –” Keith stops himself in the middle of a grin on his lips. “I’m sure she will tell us her name when she’s ready!” he continues. Keith chuckles where their arms touch, amused about his own joke.<br/><br/>“The same way Kosmo told you?” Shiro asks, a challenge in his words.<br/><br/>“Well,” Keith rolls onto his side again, and Shiro can see the pout on his lips. “If he ever decides to tell me his name, Lance is dead for giving him the wrong name.”<br/><br/>The laugh they share still tingles warm in his chest when Shiro drifts off to sleep a few minutes later, Keith at his side.<br/><br/>With Keith close like this, Shiro hopes he dreams about snuggling.<br/><br/>**<br/><br/>His dreams won’t stay dreams for long. </p><p>Not when Shiro opens his eyes and the room is illuminated by the morning light. And Keith’s body presses against his, one leg tangled with Shiro’s, his arm clinging to Shiro’s chest. </p><p>It’s soft, warm, where their skin touches. Keith’s even breathing a whisper against Shiro’s neck. Keith nuzzles into his collarbone, his hair playing around Shiro’s jaw and tickling his lips and Shiro’s chest feels heavy, but not from the unfamiliar weight.<br/><br/>It’s the domestic thought of waking up next to Keith like this, every morning. And it’s everything it takes for Shiro to long for getting used to this. The bliss has come to an end, Shiro knows that too well. </p><p>And it’s all too soon when Keith stirs beside him. As much as he wants to linger in the warmth of Keith’s embrace, Shiro spares him the awkward stuttering and stumbling over words and rolls over, cautious not to wake Keith.<br/><br/>Leaving the warm bed is hard, something even the prospect of fresh coffee can’t atone for. But the morning light breaks through their viewport and tints the whole ship in soft hues. It’s a sight he has definitely missed during their space travels, when the artificial day cycle has made him long for sunlight and fresh air.<br/><br/>On his hunt for coffee, Shiro sees the light shimmering through the hole in the wall of their ship. Their attempt to fix it is a makeshift solution consisting of a blanket and lots of duct tape. And it makes Shiro chuckle now that he sees their masterpiece in the daylight. Still, he shivers when he passes it, the morning breeze creeping through the blanket and sending a chill to his naked feet too easily.<br/><br/>Before his feet get too cold, he hurries along and is greeted by the lazy body of a space wolf blocking the way to their small kitchenette, blinking at him through sleepy eyes. Living with Kosmo has taught him that he might easily trick you into believing he’s lazy as hell – when in reality, it only takes Shiro a step towards his bowl for Kosmo to appear next to him, tail wagging in expectation of food. <br/><br/>Just like now, when a wet snout presses into Shiro’s leg – and Shiro is awake in an instant.<br/><br/>“Kosmo,” Shiro groans, which the wolf happily ignores on his quest to beg for food, his poking getting more demanding with every second Shiro does nothing against the empty bowl. </p><p>Shiro wants to usher him away, wants to send him back to his sleeping place, because, honestly, he’s not had enough coffee to cope with a nagging space wolf. </p><p>But all of it is forgotten when Keith stumbles into sight, fresh out of bed. His sleep-tousled hair is poking in every direction as he yawns a “Morning.” and slumps down next to his wolf, pressing his face into the fur.<br/><br/>“Reminding Shiro it’s time for breakfast? You’re such a good boy!”<br/><br/>Shiro chokes on thin air at the sight in front of him. Keith is still pretty much naked except for his underwear, and even the sleep-drunk, tousled look does nothing to hide his beauty. To Shiro’s demise, it does exactly the opposite.<br/><br/>Making coffee is a welcome distraction, and he’s happy he only hears Keith talking instead of having to watch him laze around in front of him, the sun illuminating his abs just right, playing around his soft features just like… Shiro wheezes as half of the coffee powder lands on the countertop instead of in the filter. </p><p>Keith finally breaks away from his wolf when Shiro hands him the cup filled with hot coffee, mouthing a <em> thank you </em> against the rim as he inhales the smell. </p><p>It’s a serene sight, one that Shiro wants to savor for bad days. </p><p>So, of course, the moment is interrupted by the chirp of an incoming message from the comms. </p><p>“I’m gonna get that,” Shiro’s already on his way to the cockpit when he gazes back. Keith is half-buried in the fur of his wolf again, sipping his coffee while one of his hands plays with the soft spot behind Kosmo’s ear. The sight makes his heart leap.<br/><br/>Starting like this, Shiro’s sure it’s going to be a good day.<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>It’s going to be a bad day. Or, to be precise, a bad week.<br/><br/>The message they receive is from Pidge, informing them that it will take a while for anyone to get to them. The planet’s magnetic field is meddling with their current system, something Matt and Pidge are already working on. They should be done in a couple of days, maybe a week.<br/><br/>“A week?” Keith groans as he steps next to Shiro, bending over the pilot seat to listen closer.</p><p>“Oh and another thing,” Pidge adds in her voice mail. “Guess what, there wasn’t even a distress signal, to begin with. The space wolves zapping interfered with the magnetic field of the planet. That’s that. So no one for you to rescue.”<br/><br/>A sigh escapes his lips. They crash-landed on another planet for nothing. From the corner of his eye, Shiro can see Keith’s eyebrow dangerously twitching.<br/><br/>“Anyway, have fun on your desert island vacation. Remember to use protection. See you in a few days.”<br/><br/>Keith runs his hand over his face while Shiro’s cheeks are burning as soon as Pidge’s message stops.<br/><br/>“A week with a love-struck space wolf and a hole in our spaceship?” Keith’s head falls to the side. <br/><br/>Shiro tries hard not to sigh. “Let’s make the best out of it. I’ve always wanted to bathe in a freshwater spring!”<br/><br/>The thought of waking up in Keith’s arms also is a nice bonus, but Shiro doesn’t say that out loud.<br/><br/>**<br/><br/>The sun is high when they start fixing the crack in their ship. It’s hot enough they skip tossing on a lot of layers, the wet grass underneath their feet a welcome coolness. Shiro can’t help but shimmy out of his t-shirt to enjoy the warm rays of sunlight on his chest. </p><p>To Shiro’s demise, Keith decides it’s the perfect weather to work in nothing but a tank top and a pair of swimming trunks. If Keith notices the admittedly very embarrassing yelp that leaves Shiro at the sight, he won’t mention it. In fact, he turns to look for Kosmo instead, averting his gaze completely. </p><p>They find the wolf close to the entry of the forest, curled in the shadows of the trees. His longing gaze is fixed on the bushes and a long huff escapes his fangs every now and then. Shiro can’t help but feel sorry for the heart-aching wolf. </p><p>There are some leftover planks in the bunk, a bit too long for their fix to look aesthetically pleasing, but Shiro really does not mind when it means avoiding freezing feet in the mornings.<br/><br/>When they finish gathering the planks outside, Kosmo is still busy gazing longingly at the bushes.<br/><br/>“Kosmo really has it hard, huh?” Shiro says with a laugh, putting down the last of the planks. </p><p>“Yeah, it’s awful,” Keith says.</p><p>“Don’t you think it’s adorable? Like a teenager in love. Man, those were the days.”<br/><br/>“He reminds me of Lance swooning after Allura.” Keith rolls his eyes as he fetches nails and a hammer. “He made me listen to half an hour of him serenading her hair.”<br/><br/>Shiro laughs. The thought is too endearing.<br/><br/>“Wonder if there’s something like courting rituals for space wolves,” he says. He really can think of better topics than Lance pining. <br/><br/>He can see Keith’s shoulders tense at his words. “Courting?” <br/><br/>“You know, like... human dating? Flowers, fancy restaurants, all that stuff.” Shiro can see Keith pull a face, a charming reminder of his years as a rebellious hotshot with a penchant for stealing cars. “Not your idea of a romantic date?”<br/><br/>Keith blushes as he answers, “Ah well, it doesn’t sound terrible, I just… don’t know if I would feel like I belong in a fancy restaurant? I’m more for a ride on hoverbikes and sharing a beer while watching the sunset.”<br/><br/>Shiro allows his mind to wander back to the day before, when they shared a drink over their bonfire. And indeed, he would prefer evenings like this over fancy restaurants any time when his company was named Keith.</p><p>The idea of beer-flavored kisses in soft evening hues warms his chest as Keith continues. “Or maybe watching a movie? If it’s the right person, even watching a movie and just chilling sounds nice.”<br/><br/>“Yeah...very nice,” Shiro answers, a bit breathlessly. Leave it to Keith to make the most mundane things sound like a perfect date. To be fair, spending time with Keith, in any kind of constellation, already feels like a perfect date.<br/><br/>“Don’t take advice from me though,” Keith says as soon as one side of the plank is fixed to the ship. It’s hard not to stare at him, not when he casually wipes the sweat from his forehead – like it doesn’t drive Shiro crazy.<br/><br/>“Haven’t been on a date yet, so maybe I’d hate everything,” Keith adds, as he tends to the other end of the plank. </p><p>Keith asks for the hammer again. The nail hanging from his lips is trying hard to turn Shiro’s head. Shiro has to correct himself. Keith does <em> everything </em> with a certain casualness that makes his stomach flip.<br/><br/>“No way!” Shiro is definitely not proud of the way the words come out, It’s a weird mix between a laugh and total disbelief.<br/><br/>“Yes way. There were more important things going on. Like. Saving the universe.” A shrug underlines his words, as well as a shake of his head. “What about you? I bet you’re a Fancy Food guy.”</p><p>Shiro scratches his cheek with the arm that is not holding the plank up for Keith. “Not that I have a lot of experience, but the fancy restaurant and flowers kind of dates were nice... Adam liked to play it safe.”<br/><br/><em> As with everything, </em> he adds in his mind. It’s enough to let their conversation drift into a darker direction. Enough to search for a change of topic.<br/><br/>“Anyway!” Shiro starts, earning a surprised look from Keith as he’s picking up another board. “Kosmo can’t take anyone on a fancy date or hoverbike racing! So what are Kosmo’s best points? We should focus on those.”</p><p>“What are Kosmo’s... Shiro, you’re a genius, that’s perfect!” The next thing he hears is a loud noise. It’s the board in Keith’s hands falling to the ground, while Keith points a finger at Shiro.<br/><br/>“He’s strong! And he’s fast.” Keith is beaming like he found the solution to get them flying again by sunset. He’s cute like that, and Shiro bites his tongue to stop himself from saying so.<br/><br/>He scratches his cheek instead. “I... rather thought he’s clever and loyal?”<br/><br/>His words cause Keith’s eyebrow to shoot up. “But... he’s a wolf?”</p><p>Shiro nods slowly.</p><p>“The female wolves usually go for the strongest males. And who’s the strongest one if not Kosmo?“ Keith explains casually, his hands wandering into his pockets.<br/><br/>Shiro can’t help but chuckle, his fist bumping Keith’s shoulders lightly.  “I see, canine expert Keith. Years in the desert have prepared you for this moment, huh?”<br/><br/>If it were possible, Keith’s hands would sink even further into his pockets, Shiro thinks, as he sees Keith’s shoulders stiffen. “Yeah, believe me, it was sand and stones and coyotes for months. I’m an expert.”<br/><br/>“Keith,” Shiro’s voice goes soft thinking about Keith being alone in the desert, staring at the stars. He can’t help it, he will always be soft for Keith. “I’m sorry.”<br/><br/>He sees the shrug on Keith’s shoulders and the way his gaze wanders back to his wolf. Wanders somewhere Shiro can’t catch it.<br/><br/>“No, it’s okay, it’s been years, Shiro! Look where we are now! How could it get any better?”<br/><br/>Yeah, what’s better than being stranded on a far-off planet with limited supplies and a space-wolf in love, Shiro wants to joke. He gets distracted by Keith’s well-formed biceps wiping the sweat from his forehead. A gesture that has his pants suddenly feel a lot tighter.<br/><br/><em>Yeah</em>, Shiro thinks. <em>How could it get any better?</em><br/><br/>**<br/><br/>It only gets worse.<br/><br/>And with ‘it’, Shiro means Keith’s ideas. Once they are done fixing the ship, they decide to hunt the forest for food. At least, those are Keith’s words, but when he motivates Kosmo to join them, it’s pretty clear that he wants to hunt for a certain purple wolf as well.</p><p>“Listen buddy, yesterday took you by surprise, but now you’re prepared! I know you can take them all!” Keith starts as soon as they enter the forest. The determination in his voice is kind of cute, Shiro has to admit.<br/><br/>“Don’t get his hopes up, Keith.” Shiro tries to be the voice of reason. And Kosmo whines.<br/><br/>The wolves are at the same clearing they found them the day before, enjoying the sun and the fresh water, bathing underneath waterfalls, and rubbing their backs in the grass.</p><p>Keith pulls Shiro with him as he crouches down, hiding from the wolves’ sight in a short distance. Shiro hopes it’s far enough for the wolves not to scent them. </p><p>They spot Nebula sitting on the side, the same purple wolves as yesterday in her company. In an instant, Shiro is met by Kosmo’s tail wagging into his face happily, blocking his view. In contrast to the day before, Kosmo stays still though, his snout pressed to the ground, resting between his paws. There are no signs of him wanting to jump into the clearing and woo his love. Instead, Kosmo bares his teeth, his ears perked up. As Shiro follows his gaze, he spots the source for his behavior: the father wolf.</p><p>“He’s totally the alpha of the pack. He’s walking super erect, watching all his offspring!” Shiro notices as they stay hidden in the bushes, watching the wolves. </p><p>“Maybe that’s how he’s showing strength?” Keith assumes, his head nodding in the direction of a group of small purple wolves. “See? Most females are lazing around while he’s really attentive.”<br/><br/>“So he’s like their leader? Saving the pack from intruders?” Kosmo growls next to him and he’s sure he can also see Keith grit his teeth. </p><p>“We should call him Scar,” Keith says, his eyes fixed to the leader wolf.<br/><br/>“Have you watched <em> The Lion King </em> with Lance again?” Shiro suppresses the urge to laugh. He doesn’t want to draw any unwanted attention. </p><p>“Listen, it fits, okay?” There’s a smile on Shiro’s lips, but their banter gets interrupted when they hear a growl. One of the younger wolves has left their circle, suddenly very interested in the group of purple wolves devouring what looks close to a deer. Shiro can hear the hungry sniffing from three feet away. </p><p>Before the young wolf can step closer to the food, though, Shiro sees a movement in the corner of his eyes. The father wolf suddenly leaps and jumps onto him, throwing the younger wolf to the ground. </p><p>The smaller wolf whimpers and winds himself free – only to be tackled down again by the leader, a headbutt to his flank sending him flying. It’s only seconds before the father is back at him. They hear the young wolf howl as the leader bares his teeth. </p><p>As the younger one hurries away, tail between his legs, the older wolf circles the group of females. Shiro’s eyes fall onto Nebula. She doesn’t seem affected by her father pulling rank, her eyes weirdly fixated into their direction.<br/><br/>“What an ass,” Keith whispers. His eyes wander to his own wolf, still pressed to the ground, silently watching. Kosmo’s tail has stopped wagging completely. </p><p>“Yeah, let’s call him Scar,” Shiro says. He feels Keith’s elbow nudging his ribs as he huffs.<br/><br/>“Hey!” Shiro exclaims. “But yeah, it seems like the wolf ladies really have a thing for displays of strength,” he explains as he watches the father wolf retreat back to the place he has been sunbathing before, where a female joins him, presumably the mother wolf.<br/><br/>“Good thing for Kosmo,” Keith says.</p><p>And Kosmo whimpers.  </p><p><br/>***<br/><br/>The night is hot and humid. </p><p>Compared to the dry heat of the day, it’s a disaster that leaves Shiro sweaty and uncomfortable. And it’s the perfect excuse to take a bath in the pool at the base of the waterfall. Not that Shiro hated showering in the tiny cubicle they had on their ship. But taking a dive in fresh, cold water under the stars? Nothing can beat that!</p><p>The water is cold against his toes, sending chills down his spine before Shiro takes the plunge and lets himself fall backward into the water. It’s freezing, waking every cell in his body. </p><p>Making him feel alive.</p><p>The stars above him sparkle like diamonds.</p><p>There used to be a time when he couldn’t see a life past thirty, when exploring the universe with his best friend was a dream he’d never dared to dream. Now he’s here, skinny-dipping on a planet four solar systems away from Earth. He owes his life to an agglomeration of the weirdest coincidences and a lot of Keith’s stubbornness. And he definitely can’t complain.</p><p>Who knew the boy who caught his eyes so many years ago would become the person who saved him from death – over and over again? Shiro had long stopped seeing just the firecracker boy in him. Keith had become a fierce leader, a reliable friend, a handsome man. </p><p>A very handsome man, Shiro thinks, as he bathes his head under the waterfall. </p><p>There's no way denying that Keith has filled out, his features more distinctive. His lean body, his tiny waist... There’s not a lot Keith can hide when he’s running around their ship in only his boxer shorts. A month into their road trip and Shiro’s very well acquainted with the prominent shape in Keith’s underwear. </p><p>To his defense, it’s not that he <em> wants </em> to stare at Keith’s crotch. Looking there is kind of inevitable when Keith bends over Shiro in his pilot chair to grab something from the consoles. </p><p>Shiro should feel guilty, he <em> really </em> should, when his hands wander over his chest. Out here, with no one around and the stars shining down on him, his thoughts circle back to Keith.</p><p>Waking up with Keith clinging to his side, half-naked and fully beautiful, had definitely been hard on him. </p><p>Very hard indeed.</p><p>And <em> oh </em>, it’s been so long since he had some alone time, Shiro thinks, as his hands wander lower.</p><p> </p><p>**<br/><br/></p><p>“Keith, you should take a bath, the spring is amazing!”<br/><br/></p><p>When Shiro returns from his bath, Keith has just finished heating another can of noodles, Kosmo curling around his feet. The night air is still warm, so Shiro sees no use in wearing anything but his underwear and a towel around his neck. It’s no use sweating into his clothes when they don’t know when they will have access to a washing machine again.<br/><br/>“Shiro, could you... uhm…” Keith stops in his tracks as soon as Shiro steps into the firelight. Shiro’s first instinct is to turn and look around. Had he seen one of the wolves in the bushes? When he spots nothing, Shiro turns back to Keith. “What’s up?”<br/><br/>It’s the second that Shiro catches Keith staring at his chest before he turns his head away, his cheeks suddenly a darker shade of pink.</p><p>“Uhm, ah, I need some help with the broken wing,” Keith explains, his eyes suddenly fixed to the firelight in front of him. “I want to use it as a block in case the pack of wolves decides to show up in the middle of the night. But I can’t move that damn thing.”</p><p>Something… Hadn’t Keith said something of a display of strength being the way to the female wolf’s heart? Maybe a similar display might work with humans? Shiro doesn’t want to read too much into the healthy pink on Keith’s cheeks, but what if his fluster was not because of modesty? But caused by the same urge that made Shiro want to break into serenades about Keith’s lean chest on their kitchen floor?</p><p>He really, really doesn’t want to get his hopes up too high, as, well, Keith is obviously a human – a very smart and settled one nonetheless – and should not be wooed by pure displays of strength only. Shiro’s sure Keith would look for things like reliability and a calm soul in a potential partner.  </p><p>And still, Shiro feels himself suffering alongside a lovesick space wolf. And what could work for Kosmo might not hurt with Keith? It’s worth a try, Shiro concludes. <br/><br/>“Good thing my Altean arm comes in <em> handy </em>, huh?” A smile sneaks to Shiro’s lips, too proud about his own pun. He puts his prosthesis on display, flexing biceps that are clearly not there in the space between his shoulder port and forearm.</p><p>Keith only groans.</p><p>So much for wooing Keith with a display of strength.</p><p><br/>***</p><p>Why had he even bothered to take a bath? </p><p>Ten minutes and two failed attempts to place the broken wing later, Shiro is drenched in sweat. Again. Stupid alien planet with alien humidity and alien temperatures.</p><p>With the sweat running down his chest and his back, Shiro might as well take another hop into the spring.</p><p>He’s about to tell Keith as much when both of them are startled by a rustle of leaves. </p><p>And Kosmo jumps after the noise.</p><p>Shiro catches the panic in Keith’s eyes. It’s enough to tell him they share the same thought. Years of fighting together had made them a good team. A great team even, when they both crouched down at the same time, following Keith’s wolf as quietly as possible.</p><p>They don’t have to go far to spot Kosmo behind the bushes – right next to Nebula, sniffing and wagging her tail. </p><p>Kosmo must have noticed them, for he throws a questioning glance back to Keith. Definitely asking for help. </p><p>Shiro has to smile. Kosmo’s a full-grown, 200-pound space wolf that had no regrets tearing the Galra apart. But once he spots a cute female, he’s at a loss. </p><p>Something in his mind tells Shiro how this feels awfully familiar. </p><p>“Go, show her what an amazing and strong wolf you are,” Keith whispers, wagging his hand to shoosh Kosmo in the direction of the female wolf. Kosmo doesn’t stop gazing at where Keith and Shiro are hidden in the bushes, surely giving them away.</p><p>Suddenly, Shiro can see Kosmo’s shoulders stiffen, his tail going upright – and he starts to growl. It’s the angry kind of growl, the one he lets out before he pounces on his enemies. </p><p>Shiro half expects Nebula to jump off again, but she’s... surprisingly calm?</p><p>“Yes, you can do it!” Keith hisses. And bends forward just slightly – but it’s enough to make him lose his balance – and fall forward to the ground. </p><p>The sudden sound startles the wolves – Nebula looks up and jumps away, deep into the forest. Kosmo jumps right after her and all Shiro can do is grab Keith’s arm and stop him from going after his wolf.</p><p>His action earns him Keith’s anger. “What if he needs help?” he growls, trying to wind out of Shiro’s grasp. </p><p>“Keith. Look at me,” Shiro says as calmly as possible. Keith’s hotheadedness won’t help Kosmo this time. “He’s an adult wolf and we both know he’s very capable of taking care of himself.”<br/><br/>“Yeah, but...” Keith’s resistance against Shiro’s grip weakens, as Keith lets his gaze into the direction his wolf has just disappeared to. “I want to help him. I just have no idea how.”</p><p>Shiro lets his hand slide down Keith’s arm, finding his hand instead. With a soft press of his fingers against Keith’s, he manages to snatch Keith’s attention. “Maybe we ask Pidge or Coran to send us more information.”</p><p>Keith shakes his head. “Urgh, no, Pidge will surely tell the others.”<br/><br/>“Can you imagine Lance giving your wolf dating advice?” Shiro laughs at the thought. And a bit about the way Keith’s lips curl in disgust as Keith shudders.</p><p>“I bet Lance will suggest painting him pink and Hunk wants us to sing <em> Can You Feel the Love Tonight? </em>” They break into laughter right then and there, and Shiro is glad to see Keith’s shoulders relax. </p><p>“We should get back,” he suggests. It’s no use to search for the wolf in the dark anyway. “Kosmo knows where to find us.” </p><p>Keith nods and together they head back to their ship.</p><p>So much for wooing Nebula with a display of strength.</p><p> </p><p>**<br/><br/>As soon as they arrive at their ship, Keith sends a message to Pidge. Shiro has to kick the machine two times and it takes around twenty minutes until they get a signal that marks the message as received, but if it helps Keith sleep better, Shiro is happy to kick the communication system all he can.</p><p>“I just want him to be happy, you know?” Keith says as he finally leans back in his piloting seat once the message is marked as read. “He’s always there for me and I really want the best for him.” A sigh leaves his lips.</p><p>“Hey, he’ll be happy. I’m sure.” Shiro’s hand finds Keith’s shoulder, trying its best to reassure Keith with a firm press of fingers.</p><p>“What if he fails?” There’s a wrinkle between Keith’s eyebrows and it’s weirdly charming.</p><p>“You’re thinking too much.” Shiro hopes the soft smile on his lips helps Keith calm down. “Worst case is we’ll have a lovesick, sighing space wolf with us on the way back to Earth. Time is the best remedy against broken hearts.”</p><p>Keith’s lips curl into a small “Oh.” </p><p>“If Kosmo is anything like you, he’s a fighter. He will get his girl, believe in him,” Shiro adds, his fingers squeezing against Keith’s flesh.</p><p>“Shiro.” Keith’s hand finds his, their fingers interlacing over Keith’s shoulders and their eyes meet. His face beams and his eyes are so deep, Shiro could stay like this for hours, losing himself in Keith.</p><p>What breaks the moment is Keith closing his eyes, exhaling long and deeply. His fingers never leave Shiro’s hand. “How come you always find the right words?” He smiles at Shiro when he opens his eyes again. </p><p>It causes Shiro’s chest to fill with the familiar warmth only Keith could give him. </p><p>“Garrison only hired me to talk, apparently,” he explains, a hint of a challenge in his words.</p><p>Keith takes the bait, and it sends a weird sense of pride down his neck when Keith’s warm smile turns into a smug grin “Not the incredible strength or the good looks?”</p><p>Shiro shrugs. “You can’t charm kids on recruitment tours with strength and good looks alone,” he answers, nonchalantly.</p><p>Keith’s only response is a laugh. </p><p>“What?” Shiro blinks as Keith’s hand mocks him in a gesture of disbelief.</p><p>“Shiro, you think your <em> words </em> charmed everyone?” he says, a roll of his eyes underlining his words.</p><p>Shiro had been to enough schools in his time as a recruiter to know the kids would hang on his lips when he told them about space and adventures. They loved hearing his stories, had always asked for more. Well. Most kids at least. And then there was Keith. </p><p>Shiro’s hand springs to his chest, a dramatic display of disbelief. “Wait, you’re telling me they did not sign up because of my heroic stories?”</p><p>“Pretty sure half of them wanted to get a chance to get into your pants. And the other half wanted to be like you so everyone would want to get into <em> their </em> pants.” </p><p>Shiro wishes he could wipe that smug grin from Keith’s face. The way Keith manages to challenge him sparks a flame in him that no one else could ignite. “Is that so?”</p><p>“Definitely. Never underestimate horny teenagers.” Keith points one finger in the air.</p><p>It’s too easy to skip this chance. “So which half were you, Mister ‘I stole your car to impress you’?”</p><p>“That wasn’t to impress you. You were getting on my nerves.” Keith rolls his eyes and Shiro laughs. Keith’s fingers still play with Shiro’s on his shoulder, absentmindedly. </p><p>The casual intimacy is enough to distract Shiro. Just a peek of what they could have. </p><p>It’s not the first time Shiro has thought about what it would be like if they were closer. </p><p>Sharing subtle touches and soft kisses over their consoles while they made their way through space. </p><p>Cuddling together under the covers of their bed, looking at the stars, Keith’s head is pillowed on Shiro’s chest while Shiro plays with Keith’s hair.</p><p>His hand on Keith’s tiny waist during breakfast while Keith mumbles curses into his coffee. </p><p>All those wishes Shiro had phrased so often in his head and denied himself just as many times. </p><p>Because they already have their perfect equilibrium of traveling space together. As friends. </p><p>It’s so much more than Shiro could have ever wished for. So it’s for the best he settles for what he has, he tells himself. Again.</p><p>And again.</p><p>But Keith is beautiful like this, when he looks up at him through long lashes, the smug grin still on his lips, and the soft press of fingers against Shiro’s palm. </p><p>Bending into Keith’s space comes to him easy as breathing out his name. Keith meets him halfway and when their foreheads touch, it’s charmingly intimate. Shiro feels it vibrating under his skin. </p><p>Only a few inches separate him from Keith’s lips and the possibility to just bend down and bridge them is enough to make his heart go faster. </p><p>Keith’s smile turns soft as he looks at him with heavy eyes. He whispers Shiro’s name and <em> wow </em>. He’s just. </p><p><em> Wow </em> .<br/><br/>The ping of their communication system is what makes them jump apart.</p><p>And while Keith turns to the screen in front of him, Shiro runs a hand over his face in a lousy attempt to cool his racing heart.</p><p>The sudden realization hits him like a brick. He was so close to letting his guard down, to kissing Keith, to ruining their friendship, to… </p><p>And still, it was a revelation to be so close to Keith, to sense his breath on his lips, to wrap his fingers around Keith’s hand. </p><p>He could definitely get used to holding Keith’s hand. </p><p>“Pidge has sent us a list with alien mating rituals.” Keith sighs while Shiro mourns his loss. His fingers feel awfully big and useless when they are not touching Keith.</p><p>“It’s late. We should work through it tomorrow,” Keith says as he shuffles past him, heading for their tiny bathroom. </p><p>Shiro hopes he doesn’t imagine the red shimmer around Keith’s nose when they lie in bed twenty minutes later, not a word passed between them.</p><p>And Shiro is sure he’s ruined it.</p><p> </p><p>**</p><p>Yeah, Shiro is pretty sure he’s ruined it. </p><p>He wakes up the next morning and finds Keith all curled up in his blankets on the other side of the bed. </p><p>It’s strange to miss something that he’s only been allowed to feel one time before, but Shiro decides the best thing to shake off the gloomy thoughts is going for a morning jog before the sun can burn his skin again.</p><p>He returns an hour later and Keith is nowhere in sight. </p><p>Finding their ship empty hurts more than he wants to admit. The small fireplace looks especially lonely when it’s not shared between the two of them, only two empty bottles reminiscent of two evenings ago.</p><p>Since Keith has told him about his perfect idea for a date, Shiro could not stop thinking about what it would be like to actually be on a date with Keith, snuggling closer in the flickers of the bonfire. He’s sure Keith’s head would fit perfectly into the crook of his neck. And the thought of Keith’s nose nuzzling against his collarbone is enough to make Shiro sigh. </p><p>On his search for some fresh clothes, he sees their communications system blinking. It’s Pidge’s voice filling the cockpit as he lets the message play.</p><p>“Hey guys, good news, we found a way to get through the magnetic barrier. We’re currently dispatching a ship to get you, guys. Should arrive tomorrow around noon in your local time.” </p><p>Finally some good news! There are worse planets to be stranded on – Shiro’s mind flashes to angry giant cats – but still, the prospect of getting their ship fixed and continuing their travels sounded amazing.</p><p>After a short break, Pidge’s recorded voice fills the cockpit again. “And Lance says you should try singing <em> Can You Feel the Love Tonight? </em> Please don’t do that.” Shiro chuckles. “On second thought... Please let Keith sing it and make sure to get it on tape.” </p><p>With a laugh, Shiro bends down to switch the system off before he heads for a shower. Maybe he <em> should </em> suggest Keith try singing. </p><p>It’s unusually quiet in their ship when Shiro squeezes into their tiny shower stall and gets some semi-fresh coffee afterward. Since the beginning of their trip, he had shared the ship with Keith, so his presence has always been there. In the form of soft hums, in the form of Kosmo’s tail wagging against the floor or the sound of the coffee maker. It’s weird to have the rooms for himself, even the low sound of the engine is missing.</p><p>With a cup of coffee on his hands, Shiro exits the ship. The air is still fresh and crisp, and the grass underneath his feet is wet with dew. It’s these moments that make Shiro happy to be alive.</p><p>He has to tighten his grip on his mug, though, when he hears steps approaching and Keith appears on the clearing. Keith, wearing nothing but his tight briefs and a towel over his shoulders. </p><p>Shiro nearly chokes on his coffee. </p><p>Keith’s wet hair tells Shiro he must have taken a dive into the spring. So does one single drop of water that runs down Keith’s chest, trailing his firm abs and ending in the hem of his underwear. And Shiro watches it all but gracefully as the coffee makes him cough.</p><p>“Shiro, you’re okay?” Keith raises an eyebrow in concern as he hurries over to where Shiro fights for air.</p><p>“Yeah, just, too much coffee.” Shiro is not proud of the way he presses out the words between two coughs.</p><p>“Good morning to you too,” Keith laughs, clear and bright, and it’s everything.</p><p>“Thanks for the tip with the spring, it’s really nice,” he adds, as he passes Shiro, heading for the ship. His eyes are searching for something and Shiro can only guess what. Or who.</p><p>“Have you seen Kosmo?” Keith casually fishes for a shirt from his stack of clothes. It shouldn’t make Shiro feel <em> things </em> when he pulls it over his hair, his abs glistening in the morning light shining through the viewport. A muffled sound leaves him as he notices the shirt Keith wears is too big to be one of his own.  </p><p>He has to clear his throat before he regains his composure. </p><p>“No. Guess he didn’t return last night?” Keith shakes his head, one of his hands trying to fix the mess that’s his hair. He gives up two seconds in as he looks for a pair of pants. </p><p>They’ve been sharing their quarters for more than a month and still, Shiro is always astonished to see just how open Keith is towards him. It’s casually intimate, the way Keith lets him into his life. Just small previews of what the domestic bliss of a relationship with Keith could entail.</p><p>It’s devastating. </p><p>With a sigh, Keith finds a hairband and pulls his long strands into a ponytail.</p><p>It’s only natural, they had just realized how hot and humid Regulus 4 could get and Keith’s hair is getting a bit long on their trip. </p><p>Still, Shiro is only a man. And being so close to Keith’s bared neck is delicious torture. </p><p>It’s too kissable for his own sake. Shiro feels his pulse quickening when he stares seconds too long and has to avert his eyes.</p><p>Damn, Shiro realizes, he’s just too far gone for Keith.</p><p>Shiro’s poor heart gets a second to breathe when Keith rummages in their kitchen cupboards and finds a piece of bread he shoves between his teeth.</p><p>“I wenw bab to whek...” Keith starts, but talking and munching is not one of his strong points, so he gulps down his bread. </p><p>“I went back to check if he’s with the other wolves, but I couldn’t find their pack,” he tries again.</p><p>Shiro knows Keith tries hard not to let it show, but the concern swings with his words. So Shiro searches for a way to calm him, but telling him that everything was going to be alright sounds so stale in his head that he can’t bring himself to say the words.</p><p>He smells the ozone before he hears the familiar sound of zapping – and Shiro can only run after Keith, heading outside where Kosmo’s appeared. Alone and howling.</p><p>“You’re hurt!” is the first thing Keith says when he runs up to him, carefully taking the wolf’s face between his hands to look for deeper wounds. “What happened?”</p><p>The wolf nudges his nose against Keith’s shoulder, whining. Shiro can see how one of his front paws is bleeding and he’s holding most of his weight on the remaining three legs.</p><p>“Shiro, come here, Kosmo needs our help.” Keith’s voice trembles as he faces Shiro. His eyes are wide open and he looks desperate. Determined.</p><p>Shiro hurries forward. “How do you..?” “He told me,” Keith answers before Shiro can even finish his questions. </p><p>“He can actually talk to you?”</p><p>“Yeah, it’s telepathic? Like the lions,” Keith explains and well, it makes sense. He’s just never asked Keith about how he communicates with his wolf. He feels stupid for assuming it was one-sided, like Matt and Pidge’s babytalk with Bebe. “He also likes the name Kosmo, but don’t ever let Lance know.” </p><p>“And now hold on.”</p><p>It’s not the first time Kosmo has teleported him away. Still, it will always be weird to him when his limbs tingle, and everything turns blue before him before the light encompasses him and he suddenly finds himself somewhere completely different. </p><p>Shiro knows the spot too well. They teleport to the cliff they had crashed into with their ship. The one that killed one wing and half of their bunk bed. </p><p>From where he stands, he can see the ruins of their ship, the sad remains of what had been a proud space cruiser just three days ago. And their home. </p><p>The space wolf’s wailing catches Shiro’s attention as Kosmo tries to limp forward, the injured foot clearly not cooperating. </p><p>As he follows the wolf’s gaze, Shiro can’t see a thing except the rock ending abruptly, the sharp edges of the cliff too sharp to be natural. Just as if something had recently caused the rock to break loose. Or … someone.</p><p>Keith is the first one at the edge, spying down the cliff. “Damn, it’s Nebula,” he says. </p><p>Shiro is seconds behind, crouching next to him. He hates what he sees. </p><p>About 30 feet below, there’s a ledge in the cliff. Nebula is lying in the middle, buried underneath a pile of rocks. Shiro spots her front paws and her face, twisted in pain. The ledge is barely the size of two full-grown space wolves and Shiro can see why Kosmo has come to them for help – the rocks are too big for him to roll aside and he wouldn’t have a lot of space to move around. </p><p>“We need to get to her! Can you teleport us down?” Keith asks, and the wolf doesn’t need to be told twice. Keith disappears from Shiro’s side and reappears on the ledge a second later.</p><p>It’s a bit of a hassle to free Nebula. The ledge is not big enough for both of them, so Shiro remains on the edge, trying his best to give Keith advice about which stones he can move without hurting the wolf further. Kosmo stays with him, a low whimper escaping his snout every time Nebula moves or groans.</p><p>“Hey Kosmo,” Keith yells when they can finally see an end. “Guess your girlfriend is safe!” The wolf wags his tail, happily, landing in Shiro’s face. ”Can you come down and port us to the ship?” </p><p>They build her a nest out of blankets and pillows outside of the ship, right underneath their one remaining wing to keep her out of the sun. Kosmo stays restless when Keith and Shiro tend to Nebula’s wounds. They’re not deep, but they are bleeding and full of dirt. Every time the female so much as winces, Kosmo stiffens, a low growl in his throat. </p><p>Once they are done, Kosmo sits down next to her, not moving from her side for the hours it takes her to wake up again. </p><p>And when she does, he’s all over her. </p><p>She’s still weak and clingy, making even Shiro swoon when she leans against Kosmo for support. A view that is too familiar to Shiro. He has to avert his eyes when Nebula starts licking Kosmo’s snout – the wolves deserve some privacy. </p><p>The shameless display of affection after Kosmo’s heroic deed hits a bit too close to home. It makes Shiro remember how his skin had vibrated with the anticipation to feel Keith’s lips on his just the night before.</p><p>“You saved her, buddy. You can be proud,” Keith says, as he watches the lovebirds lost in each other. He does not get an answer from his wolf, his girlfriend more important than Keith.</p><p>“Guess it’s not the display of strength.” Shiro sits down next to him and Keith shrugs.</p><p>“Kosmo would have done anything to save her. Seems unconditionally saving your loved one is what really gets someone to fall for you,” Shiro says. And he has to think twice before he realizes what he’s implying. </p><p><em> Oh </em>, he thinks. </p><p>And, “Oh,” Keith says. </p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Keith fidget as he stares down to the fingers in his lap. There’s a blush on his cheeks that makes Shiro want to run his thumb over his skin. It’s a charming look on Keith. </p><p>And it hits him. </p><p>It hits him how Keith had never left his side when he crash-landed back on Earth, being the first to throw himself in front of Shiro to save him over and over again on their quests with the lions. </p><p>How Keith had put the universe’s fate second because he’d rather die with Shiro than live without him. </p><p>How Keith had looked at him through heavy eyes, the warmest smile on his lips when Shiro woke up in a new body. </p><p>How Keith had jumped from the sky to save him again and cradled him in his arms.</p><p>How Keith’s cheeks had been glowing red when Shiro first had stepped to his hospital bed with the biggest bouquet of red flowers in his hand.</p><p>How Keith had saved him again when he appeared at the Garrison to sweep him away.</p><p>It hits Shiro how all this time he hasn’t been the only one keeping his words from flowing from his mouth. </p><p>He hasn’t been the only one sitting on a volcano of feelings that dared to erupt one day, showering the other in words of love and devotion. </p><p>No, Shiro realizes. </p><p>He’s not the only one.</p><p>And Shiro feels the words under the tips of his fingers, feels them form on his tongue, daring to stumble out in haste. </p><p>Right here. Right now.</p><p>But patience yields focus, as Shiro has come to learn over and over again.</p><p>Keith deserves galaxies laid to his feet and kisses laid to his lips.</p><p>But what Keith doesn’t deserve is an imprudent confession, blurted out casually while they’re watching two space wolves in love. </p><p>He’s been waiting months, years, an eternity to say those words to Keith. So what are a couple of hours? </p><p>So Shiro does the only thing that’s natural to him. He sweeps Keith away.</p><p>“Do you think we should give the wolves some privacy?” Shiro nods towards the two wolves, still deeply lost in each other’s eyes. </p><p>“Yeah, let’s go.”</p><p> </p><p>**</p><p>The clearing is bathed in the sunset when they reach it. </p><p>And there is no sign of the pack of space wolves. </p><p>“Seems like they really are nomads,” Keith says as he steps closer to the waterfall. Without the wolves, it’s easier to take a walk around here. The impending sunset makes it hard to find the footing that’s not slippery and wet from the springwater though, and Shiro finds himself slipping at least once when he’s following Keith around the stony shore. </p><p>“Guess they are off exploring the rest of the Romulus system.”</p><p>It’s a shame, Shiro ponders. Four days on an alien planet and all they see is a deadly cliff and a pretty waterfall.</p><p>“But would they leave Nebula behind like this?”<br/><br/>“If it’s anything like wolves on Earth, a newly mated pair will leave their pack and start a new one. And Nebula seemed fine without them,” Keith explains. </p><p>The cascading waterfall has three levels, stones framing both sides. Between the base and the lowest level, there’s a ledge to the left, basically a bigger stone that Shiro saw wolves laze around on just a day earlier. It’s where Keith is headed.</p><p>As Keith climbs the rocks, his moves are as graceful and elegant as ever. It’s hard not to stare when his legs go on for miles and his shorts cling to his skin as he lifts himself over the ledge with ease.</p><p>Shiro feels caught when Keith bends around and kneels down, offering his hand to help him climb up. But he’s just too mesmerizing with his lean muscles flexing underneath his pale skin.</p><p>“Must be lovely to travel the universe with your pack,” Shiro says once he’s reached the second level. </p><p>“Shiro,” Keith laughs, looking back over his shoulder. The smile on his lips is radiant. “We’re already doing that.”</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Yeah.</p><p>Shiro stops in his tracks.</p><p>They really <em> are </em> doing that. Visiting foreign planets, traveling galaxies. </p><p>It’s not just a dream. </p><p>And he’s happy he gets to have this with Keith of all people.</p><p>Keith, who is examining the slope for a path that leads further up. But the stones around the higher drops seem too slippery to climb and Keith shakes his head at Shiro. They won’t get any further.</p><p>Shiro shrugs, an apologetic smile on his lips. He finds a couple of stones at the ledge close to where the water is cascading over the edge. They are still in safe distance so they won’t get wet from the splashing water when he sits down.</p><p>He pats the space between him, gesturing Keith to sit down next to him. The ledge provides a lovely view over the sun tinting the treetops in hues of red and orange. </p><p>It’s familiar, feeling Keith against his side as they watch the sunset. These serene evenings spent together are something even an alien planet can’t take away from them as it seems.</p><p>“I’m happy for him,” Keith breaks the comforting silence between them. One of his legs is propped up, resting his arm on his knee with casual elegance. As if Keith doing anything casually wasn’t taking Shiro’s breath away.</p><p>“I just… What if he wants to stay with her? They can travel the universe together. He would never have to eat dog food again.” The worry on Keith’s face is imminent. </p><p>“I’m sure Kosmo would be outraged if he found out that there is no one opening cans of dog food for him in the wild,” Shiro explains with a smile. They laugh at the thought. </p><p>It takes the worry from Keith’s face. His soft features are handsome, bathed in the colors of the sunset. </p><p>“I just… We’ve been through so much together, the thought of letting him go is just... A lot.” Shiro’s prosthetic hand finds Keith’s shoulder, a supportive squeeze against Keith’s skin. </p><p>“Keith. It’s Kosmo. He won’t leave you.” Keith’s eyes fixate on the water below. Now that the sun is slowly fading, the surface of the pool is a perfect reflection of the night sky above them, a million constellations they don’t know.<br/><br/>A bitter laugh escapes Keith’s lips. “People have a history of leaving me.”</p><p>“I won’t leave you.” Shiro’s fingers curl tighter around Keith’s shoulder.</p><p>“Shiro,” Keith says, looking up to him. There’s sadness in his eyes and Shiro wants to wipe it all away.</p><p>“I promised I would never give up on you. And I’m serious.” </p><p>“Shiro, I...” Keith is breathtakingly gorgeous like this, illuminated by the last rays of sunshine, the hues of orange playing in his eyes where they are blown wide when Shiro lets his fingers wander from Keith’s shoulder to his cheek.</p><p>The silence between them is filled with the sound of water rushing down the ledge. It might have also been the pulse rushing in Shiro’s ears as his thumb grazes over Keith’s cheekbones. His skin is soft under his fingertips and his lips are slightly parted. Inviting. </p><p>“Keith.” </p><p>And the words come to him easy to him, as easy as breathing. They flow out of his mouth. </p><p>The only words he knows. The only words he needs. </p><p>“I love you.”</p><p>“Shiro, I...” Keith starts. Shiro just shakes his head as he lets their foreheads touch. Keith’s eyes are glassy, blown even wider. His skin is trembling underneath his fingers. </p><p>Keith is silent, exhales. </p><p>Then. “You serious?”</p><p>And Shiro nods.</p><p>Keith’s lips on his are heaven. </p><p>Shiro’s come back from the dead, has won a war and traveled space. But nothing. Nothing beats the feeling of his chest bursting into a thousand when Keith bends forward. Nothing beats the feeling of touching Keith and pulling him in, cradling his cheek with one hand while he buries his metal fingers in Keith’s hair. </p><p>Keith’s kisses are careful, tentative. But Keith’s grip in his shirt tightens, trying to close the last few inches of space between their bodies, as if they weren’t already as close as possible. Shiro won’t complain.</p><p>“I love you,” Shiro repeats between two kisses, chasing Keith’s lips again. There’s a muffled sound, an attempt from Keith to reply, but it gets lost when Shiro’s teeth find Keith’s lips and pull softly. </p><p>The moan it draws is the most beautiful sound Shiro’s ever heard.</p><p>It sparks a fire in him, a challenge to find more of these lovely sounds where one has come from. </p><p>Something in Keith’s kisses changes, the shift from slow to passionate immanent in the way Keith’s teeth play with Shiro’s lips, the way his tongue licks into Shiro’s mouth. Shy at first, but broader, wetter with every second.</p><p>And Keith is eager.</p><p>Too eager, maybe, as he bends into Shiro’s space, chasing another kiss when Shiro breaks for air. </p><p>The chase isn’t new. It’s always been there. As long as he could think, Keith’s passion for him has burnt bright like a sun. </p><p>It’s the same passion that made him follow Shiro across the universe. </p><p>And it’s the same passion that makes Shiro stumble backwards and lose his balance now. Sending them both flying down into the liquid galaxy beneath their feet.</p><p>It’s a short drop, the water surface just about 5 feet below, as he takes Keith with him. Years of undisturbed flowing must have created a plunge pool at the base of the waterfall, the water deep enough to brace their fall. Shiro is completely submerged before he’s pulled up again by Keith’s arms. As his head breaks the surface, Shiro finds himself facing Keith. </p><p>As Shiro’s feet find the ground and he stands upright, the water reaches around his shoulders. It’s ice-cold and soft against his skin. Every inch of clothing is sticking to Shiro’s body, his hair pressed back against his head.</p><p>“Shiro. Shiro, you okay? Are you hurt?” Keith asks, panic in his eyes.</p><p>And oh, if Shiro thought Keith was beautiful in the last rays of sunlight, with his cheeks red and his eyes-blown wide – he was wrong. </p><p>Because here like this, with Keith’s hair wet and hanging in his face in strands, with the night-sky illuminating his deep eyes and with his lips red and swollen from their kisses. </p><p>This. </p><p>This is ethereal.</p><p>“Oh god, I love you,” is all Shiro can say. He cups Keith’s neck with one of his hands, pulling Keith towards him. Water splashes as their lips meet and, damn, Shiro thinks, he never wants to stop kissing Keith. </p><p>It’s a press of skin, a tear of limbs, as both chase each other’s lips, trying to steal each other’s breaths. Shiro is brave, licking into Keith’s mouth as his hands wander down his back. He finds the swell of Keith’s ass, fitting perfectly into his palm. </p><p>Keith’s groans against his lips as Shiro squeezes, and Shiro gets every inch of confirmation he needs as one of Keith’s legs wraps around Shiro’s hip, pulling their bodies even closer together. Keith’s fingers cling to his shirt before they sneak underneath the wet fabric, his hands skimming over Shiro’s pecs before they slide to his shoulders, the pull bringing him closer to Shiro. </p><p>“You’re perfect. Shiro,” Keith says, breathless, between two kisses, and Shiro’s skin is about to burst. </p><p>Keith is the perfect one. Devoted and overwhelming, mesmerizing against the night sky that’s reflecting in the water around them. It really is like taking a dip in the universe. There’s nowhere Shiro would rather be.</p><p>Keith throws a gaze at him, again, deep purple eyes looking sinuously through long dark lashes. And it’s enough to make Shiro stumble backwards, pulling Keith with him as he lets himself fall back into the water. </p><p>If anybody had told Shiro a month ago that he would find himself on an alien planet, sharing heated underwater kisses with Keith, he would have blushed at the idea.</p><p>But here he is, chasing Keith’s lips and his breath as they struggle to find each other’s lips underwater. </p><p>Though the idea of kissing Keith underwater sounded romantic in the first place, there’s water everywhere. Shiro can’t even kiss Keith like he means it with all the water in their mouths and noses. </p><p>When they emerge again, both of them are panting for air. Keith’s wet hair is framing his beautiful eyes. </p><p>“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to kiss you,” Keith says, just like this, and Shiro cups his cheek again, placing a kiss to Keith’s forehead. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” he whispers against Keith’s skin. Shiro’s lips place the softest kisses against Keith’s temple, his eyelids, the tip of his nose, before they find Keith’s lips again. </p><p>“I love you,” he says again, and again, and he’s not sure if the wetness on both of their cheeks is only water or tears of joy. But happiness rolls against Keith’s lips in the form of Shiro’s smile and laugh. There’s so much love for Keith in his body that he can’t keep from spilling out. He does not want to. Not anymore. </p><p>They stay like this forever, Shiro thinks. Lost in each other. Kissing.</p><p>Finally kissing. </p><p>He’s dreamed days and months and years of having Keith like this. The thought he’s finally allowed to hold him in his arms, to kiss every inch of him, is still making him gasp. </p><p>The sensation is new and yet it seems like the most natural thing, like breathing. Like he was meant to kiss Keith all along.</p><p>They float like this for a while, clinging to each other. Keith’s mouth against his lips, his legs around his hips, his hands against his shoulder blades, is the only thing that matters.</p><p>Shiro feels the ground against his calves first, the pond getting shallower as they move closer towards the shore. It’s not long before Shiro can actually sit on the wet ground with his head above the surface, his back braced against the stones, and his weight resting on his forearms.</p><p>Keith stumbles after him, bending into Shiro’s space.</p><p>They find themselves in a position that gives Keith more leverage to press his body closer to Shiro and it shows in his kisses. They get more desperate, wanting. </p><p>Both move naturally like this, with Keith’s kneeling around Shiro’s thighs, his hands clinging to Shiro’s top as he slowly grinds against Shiro, trying to eradicate every remaining inch between them. Shiro’s pulse is rushing in his ears, singing <em> closer, closer </em>, as he presses against Keith. </p><p>The water plays around his midriff, but Shiro doesn’t care, not when the kisses they exchange are heated and passionate. Not when all of his blood is rushing down south. </p><p>“Shiro,” Keith whispers against his lips, again, as if he wants to make sure this is real. Shiro can’t take any offense. He still can’t believe Keith is his to kiss.</p><p>Kissing Keith is a revelation. </p><p>Their first tentative kisses have long made way for a fire behind Keith’s every move. And there’s nothing more arousing than Keith’s hot panting against his lips.</p><p>Shiro just wants time to stop here and now. </p><p>It’s Keith who breaks their kiss this time. Keith, who looks at him with eyes wide open again.<br/><br/>“Oh shit, Shiro, I’m stupid,” he says, “I love you too.”</p><p>The laugh they share leaves Shiro’s fingers tingling.</p><p>“I know,” Shiro whispers, a goofy grin on his lips where he presses them against Keith’s.</p><p>Keith is about to protest, but any words get lost when Shiro licks into Keith’s mouth. </p><p>Keith’s moans are encouraging, so he shifts his weight, causing them both to change positions.</p><p>This way, both Shiro’s arms bracket Keith’s head, so Keith lies pinned underneath him. Shiro can’t help but groan. </p><p>“I know,” he whispers again, breaking their kiss to press their foreheads together. “I love you so much, Keith,” Shiro says. He wants to burn the image of Keith, water collecting in his lashes and his lips cherry red from their kisses, into his mind forever.</p><p>Shiro knows they have all the time in the world, but there’s no way to take it slow when Keith bends underneath him like <em> that </em>, when he rolls his hips up like he means it. Shiro can’t help but moan when he feels the brush against his own arousal. Keith is hard where he presses between them, and the only things separating them are thin layers of fabric.</p><p>“Keith,” Shiro whispers as they break for air again. It’s a mistake to look down at Keith, where he’s surrounded by the reflection of the starry sky floating around his body so beautifully. </p><p>He’s always known <em> Keith </em> is his whole universe.</p><p>And Keith’s lips curl upwards, a seductive gaze burning on his face that Shiro’s never seen before, but that is sure to send a shiver down his spine and make his arousal twitch in anticipation. As Keith lays his arms around Shiro’s neck and pulls him down, his breath is a hot whisper against Shiro’s cheek. </p><p>“I want you,” Keith whispers into his ear.</p><p>And Shiro simply growls. </p><p>There’s a beautiful layer of red on Keith’s cheeks, the lust in his eyes tinted with the tiniest hint of insecurity. And Shiro can’t wait to kiss it from his lips.</p><p>Their kisses have tipped on the edge between soft and heated before, but the way Keith moans against his lips and lets his fingers wander down Shiro’s chest to tug at his top is unmistakable. Keith grinds his hips upwards to meet the equally desperate roll of Shiro’s hip.</p><p>Shiro wants nothing more than to pull the shirt off of Keith’s body. The sensation that he can just do so is making Shiro kiss Keith even more, before his hands free Keith’s torso. </p><p>The scars on Keith’s chest form beautiful constellations that Shiro wants to kiss and follow. </p><p>It’s beautiful, the way Keith’s abs flex in the water, his muscles moving with each roll of his hips. Shiro’s prosthesis winds around Keith’s shoulders, pressing him closer with a well-placed pull that leaves Keith breathless against his lips.</p><p>Shiro’s mechanical fingers play with the long strands of Keith’s hair in the water before they tug at it, finding both leverage and a way to move Keith’s face just so, allowing him to lick into his mouth again and kiss him with a newfound heat.</p><p>He knows he won’t last long like this, not when Keith rids him of his own shirt and Keith’s fingers sneak underneath the waistband of his pants, pulling them down in a swift motion.</p><p>“Shiro,” Keith only says as he lets his fingers ghost over the head of Shiro’s cock. </p><p>And it hits him. </p><p>He’s here, kissing Keith. He’s allowed to touch and worship his body. All of his body. </p><p>He’s making love to Keith. And it’s the most beautiful feeling in the world.</p><p>It’s overwhelming, Keith so willingly underneath him, so full of love and want. He has to break their kiss and hides his face in the crook of Keith’s neck.</p><p>“Wow,” he says, but it comes out more of a chuckle against Keith’s skin. He kisses the spot where Keith’s collarbone dips in the most sinuous way and the way Keith moans against his hair is enough to make his arousal even more prominent.</p><p>Everything is fast, hot, new, when Shiro lets his fingers delve in the soft flesh of Keith’s ass. The movement he uses to free Keith of his pants is just as fluid and desperate, and so is the moment they let their cocks slide against each other for the first time. </p><p>The curve of Keith’s cock against his is amazing, hot, as they struggle to find their pacing. </p><p>Shiro can feel both of them chasing their climax as Keith whispers his name like a prayer against his mouth, his cheeks, everywhere his lips can reach.</p><p>They rut against each other like that, their pace fast and impetuous, and Shiro feels the need bubble in him, feels his breath racing against Keith’s lips and skin the second Shiro’s hand closes around both their cocks.</p><p>Keith’s whimpers are the most beautiful sounds as he moans his name beneath him, shuddering and bending his back in a perfect arch. He pants against Shiro’s lips as he comes, spilling over Shiro’s hand. </p><p>The glassy eyes look good on him, Shiro thinks, as he chases his own orgasm. </p><p>Keith’s hand finds his, wrapping around the fingers that are stroking him off in an unsettled pace. Shiro fucks into the heat, feelings overwhelming him as Keith’s thumb grazes over the head again where drops of precum have gathered. </p><p>It’s all too good, too overwhelming, to let him last for long. It takes him only a few of Keith’s sweeps before he spills over Keith’s chest, hot and messy, Keith’s name on his lips. </p><p>They stay like this after. The sound of their calming breaths is the only thing between them and Shiro doesn’t think, doesn’t speak. </p><p>He only gets lost in the sight of Keith beneath him.</p><p>“Wow,” Keith says, breathless, in the afterglow.</p><p>He’s bathed in the light of two moons and the starry night sky. He’s panting and beautiful. </p><p>Absolutely beautiful like this.</p><p>“Wow,” Shiro says, equally breathless. </p><p>His love for Keith is vibrating in every cell of his body.</p><p>And bending down to kiss Keith again comes easy as breathing.</p><p> </p><p>*<br/><br/>They don’t even bother to put their clothes back on as they make their way back to their ship. </p><p>Keith laughs from where he sits at the shore as Shiro chases after his shirt that’s floating away from him in a mocking manner.<br/><br/>Shiro gets his revenge two minutes later. Keith’s naked ass is too inviting to not squeeze it. Sometimes, a floating arm really comes in handy.</p><p>“Shiro!” The way Keith squeaks his name when the metal fingers curl into soft flesh brings a smug grin to Shiro’s lips.</p><p>“Not my fault my boyfriend has such a pretty ass,” Shiro says with a grin. The word <em> boyfriend </em> tastes good on his lips.</p><p>He’s not sure if Keith wants revenge or to thank him, but he welcomes the way that Keith presses him to the nearest tree, pins him between his arms and kisses him with emphasis in return, his hands wandering down to give Shiro’s butt a squeeze in return. Or five.</p><p>Their hands find each other and giddy laughs are exchanged as they stumble back to their ship, and Shiro has to press a kiss against their interlaced fingers every couple of meters, just to make sure this is not a dream.<br/><br/>Keith loves him. He’s allowed to do this. </p><p>
  <em> Wow. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The space wolves are nowhere to be found, so they hang up their clothes to dry and stumble into their ship, drunk on their love and kisses.</p><p>There are hands everywhere.</p><p>Shiro has always been handsy, but being allowed to touch Keith wherever he wants is new. Exciting. </p><p>The thrill burns underneath his fingers as he presses Keith against the cold metal of their bedroom door, trapping him with his kisses. He feels the smile on Keith’s lips where their mouths press together.</p><p>His hands find Keith’s ass, the flesh soft underneath his fingers. As soon as Keith wraps one leg around Shiro’s hip, the idea comes to his mind.</p><p>“Hold on,” he whispers against Keith’s lips, giving Keith hardly enough time to place his hands around Shiro’s neck before he lifts him. Keith’s wraps both legs around his body, happy to get carried around.</p><p>He makes a sound that’s close to cooing – and Shiro preens.</p><p>They stumble backwards through the door, Keith’s hands delving through Shiro’s hair too distracting to pay attention to anything else. Shiro’s calves bump against his bed before he lets himself fall, his back bouncing against the mattress as he takes Keith’s weight with him. </p><p>Keith pinning him to the mattress is the thing fairytales are made of, Shiro is sure. The starry night sky shines through their viewport and illuminates Keith’s hair where he’s kneeling over him. </p><p>There is no way Shiro can be more in love with him than at this moment. </p><p>Shiro’s legs are hot where they are trapped between Keith’s knees. And with every roll of Keith’s hips, he feels Keith’s half-hard cock brush against his skin.</p><p>“Again?” Shiro raises an eyebrow, a laugh on his lips. He won’t complain about Keith’s stamina and dedication.</p><p>“Yeah,” is Keith’s only reply before he rolls his hips down again and Shiro can’t help but moan as he feels his cock twitch in interest again. </p><p>He wants to thrust upwards, meeting Keith’s roll halfway, but Keith shifts his weight and breaks their kiss.</p><p>“You don’t know how long I‘ve been wanting to do this,” he says as he gathers his hair in his neck with one hand and bends down. </p><p>And. <em> Oh </em> .<br/><br/>Keith’s mouth takes his breath away where it leaves kisses against his thigh. And suddenly there are soft lips on his cock, sucking gently. </p><p>It’s a revelation when Keith reaches the head, shy kitten licks moving into skillful laps of his tongue before he wraps his lips around it.</p><p>And the noise that leaves Shiro is embarrassing. <br/><br/>Keith stops in his action, looking up to him with worry in his eyes. He pulls back a little to speak. “You okay? Should I stop?” </p><p>“No, no no no, don’t stop,” Shiro blurts out, his hand running through his hair before he has to cover his eyes with his forearm. He’s not exactly proud of the desperate tenor of his words, but it’s Keith’s mouth around his cock and hell, it’s even better than anything his dreams could have come up with.</p><p>“I’m just… Wow, Keith,” Shiro laughs. </p><p><em> We’re really doing this, </em> he wants to say, but words won’t come. </p><p>It’s overwhelming.</p><p>“Yeah,” Keith says, his expression nearly shy if it wasn’t for the cock in his hand and his fingers over Shiro’s slit, thumbing through the beads of precum.</p><p>Shiro loses it again when Keith looks at him through those illegally long lashes of his, a perfect mix of innocent and sultry, before he takes Shiro’s cock between his lips again and moves downwards.</p><p>Shiro knows he’s not exactly small, but seeing Keith take so much of him is doing <em> things </em> to him. He has to close his eyes at one point, losing himself to the pleasure rushing through his veins.</p><p>The heat is one thing, but Keith’s tongue – Keith’s tongue is enough to turn him into a shuddering mess, whimpering Keith’s name and searching for Keith’s hair for leverage.</p><p>It’s a mistake, he decides, when it makes him aware of every bump of Keith’s head. With a soft tug, he lifts Keith’s head, looking directly into these beautiful, glassy eyes. Keith’s lips are wrapped around his cock, precum dribbling from his lips and it’s filthy, so filthy and mesmerizing. </p><p>It’s everything he could have wanted, and it has his toes curling and his back arching up. </p><p>He comes with Keith’s name on his lips and sees stars behind his eyelids.</p><p>His heart thunders in his chest as he comes down from his high, Keith’s lips leaving butterfly kisses on his thighs helping him to regain his breathing.</p><p>Keith has just given him the most overwhelming blowjob.</p><p>Keith, who sits up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, his lips puffy, the most delicious red. </p><p>“Was that okay?” he asks. There is definitely no need for the uncertainty in his eyes. </p><p>“Was that… You were amazing, Keith.” Shiro bends forward and cups Keith’s jaw with his palm.</p><p>Keith turns his head slightly to place a kiss onto Shiro’s palm, whispering Shiro’s name against his skin.</p><p>Somehow, this chaste kiss feels just as intimate as Keith’s lips around his cock. Shiro’s fingertips burn with love for this man as he answers. </p><p>“Let me take care of you, baby.” </p><p>Shiro’s thumb grazes softly over Keith’s cheekbone, swiping down to his lips.</p><p>Keith looks at him with half-lidded eyes, sinuous and smug, parting his lips just enough for Shiro’s thumb to fit through. Shiro gasps and it mixes with the sound of Keith’s moan.</p><p>He lets his metal fingers wander down over the firm muscles of Keith’s chest, stomach, until they find the coarse curls of the trail leading down to Keith’s cock, already interested and heavy against his stomach. </p><p>“Damn. Say that again,” Keith pleas, his voice heavy with want. </p><p>It sends a shiver down Shiro’s spine. </p><p>“You like that? Baby?” Shiro knows he’s a tease when he combines his words with a well-placed flick of his wrist. Keith throws his head back in pleasure. </p><p>“I want to feel you,” he moans into Shiro’s ears, curling his fingers into Shiro’s shoulder. The way Keith’s teeth sink into Shiro’s earlobe should be illegal. Keith is igniting a fire in him that burns red and hot. The night is young, Shiro thinks. And still...</p><p>“Baby. We have all the time in the world,” he explains, his soft. "Have some patience."</p><p>He would have to lie if he said he had not thought about fucking Keith before. And with him in his hands like this, willing and winding, every cell of his body screams to chase his release again, surrounded by Keith. But if they have one thing, it is time to explore each other’s bodies, get lost in their shared passion. Shiro can’t wait to see what else will make Keith moan his name like a prayer.</p><p>“Do you… Ah...” Keith is adorably pink around his nose as he’s averting his eyes, while his teeth dig into his lips to stifle another moan. </p><p>“Do you want to feel me, too? Let me take care of you?” Keith asks.</p><p>Shiro growls at the thought of being taken by Keith. It’s a longing he has denied himself far too long.</p><p>Shiro’s answer is a moaned, <em> ‘Yes, baby, </em>’ against Keith’s mouth, his thumb grazing over the head of Keith’s cock. </p><p>It makes Keith’s fingers dig deeper into Shiro’s shoulders, pulling him closer against his chest. Shiro misses Keith’s lips on his, but from where he’s pressed against Keith’s neck, he can nibble at the soft skin there while he whispers soothing words.</p><p>“You’re doing amazing, baby,” he says, but Keith is lost in the pleasure that Shiro’s hand brings to him. </p><p>Shiro’s strokes are getting faster, and so is Keith’s breath. He says Shiro’s name like a prayer, and the sound is so much more beautiful than the silent whimpers Keith had huffed back in the water. </p><p>It’s not long before Keith spills in Shiro’s hand, warm and sticky.</p><p>His cheeks are red and his eyes are glassy when he lies back onto the bed. His hair hangs in thick strands to the side of his face, Keith’s forehead too pretty for Shiro not to kiss it. </p><p>He’s gorgeous, Shiro thinks. He tells him as much, only to be rewarded with Keith’s cheeks reddening even more. “No need to woo me, I’m already yours,” Keith says, trying to wave Shiro off.</p><p>“Just telling the truth.” Shiro’s grin is smug as he bends down to kiss Keith again. And again.</p><p>And again for good measure. “The most beautiful man in the universe.”</p><p>“No,” Keith laughs. It’s a beautiful sound. “That spot is already taken by you.” </p><p>It’s about three seconds later that Shiro finds out Keith is ticklish – but only in the hollow of his knee. </p><p>“I love you,” Shiro whispers as they lay there in the afterglow, a smile on his lips. </p><p>And, “I love you, too,” Keith replies, warm and mellow, nudging against Shiro as they slowly fall into a deep slumber. </p><p>The last thing Shiro sees are the stars above them, shining down at him from their cracked viewport.</p><p>Shiro falls asleep to the most beautiful sight in the universe.</p><p><br/>*<br/><br/></p><p>The next morning brings the warmth of Keith’s body snuggled against his side. The way Keith’s body presses against his is familiar, one leg tangled with Shiro’s. Keith’s arms cling to Shiro’s chest, Keith’s steady breath fanning against his collarbone. </p><p>It takes Shiro a moment to realize he’s allowed to enjoy this, but when he does, he lets his arm wander, looping around Keith’s waist and planting kisses against the crown of Keith’s hair. This glimpse of their future together and a lot of serene mornings to share makes his heart beat faster. </p><p>Keith is here in his arms. He’s allowed to have this.</p><p>After a handsy breakfast and another round of seemingly endless kissing, they reluctantly start packing their belongings. It’s not a lot, leaving them with enough time to sneak in subtle touches and short kisses.</p><p>In the early afternoon, they spot a ship in the sky, and they’re pulled into a warm hug from Matt once the spacecraft has landed.</p><p>“Finally,” Matt yells as he sees their interlaced fingers, patting Shiro on the back. “No fucking on my ship, get it?” he adds, leaving Keith groaning and Shiro with crimson cheeks.</p><p>It takes a bit of maneuvering to get their broken ship into the hangar, but they don’t want to leave it behind on the uninhabited planet.  They are sure Hunk loves the challenge to fix the mess. </p><p>Once their last boxes are stored safely in the rescue ship, Shiro senses the familiar smell of ozone, accompanied by flashes of blue and purple in the corner of his eyes.</p><p>Kosmo and Nebula have come to say their goodbyes. </p><p>And Keith’s face falls.  </p><p>“Hey boy,” he says, and Shiro can see how he tries to keep his composure. “You wanna stay with your girlfriend?” </p><p>The space wolf’s head bends in confusion.<br/><br/>Keith steps closer, wrapping his arms around Kosmo’s mane, hugging him tightly. “Guess it’s goodbye, buddy,” he says.<br/><br/>From where he stands, Shiro can see the concern in the wolf’s features. </p><p>“Keith…” Shiro whispers, causing Keith to turn around. It’s a subtle gesture, but Shiro is sure Keith is wiping a tear from his eye. </p><p>“He belongs here, Shiro. He should stay with Nebula,” Keith explains as he steps past Shiro, a quiver in his voice. And Shiro understands: Keith hates goodbyes.</p><p>“Keith, wait!” Shiro wraps his hand around Keith’s wrist to stop him. Keith’s eyes are red and wide when they stare back at him. Shiro knows the look – Keith has set his mind to leaving his wolf on Romulus 4. </p><p>Good thing Keith’s words can’t waver him – Shiro’s determined to talk him out of the idea. </p><p>A movement in the corner of his eyes catches his attention.</p><p>A smile sneaks to his lips as he looks past Keith, to the cargo hatch of their rescue ship. </p><p>Turns out he doesn’t need a lot of persuasions. </p><p>On top of the gangway, the two space wolves stand, clearly signaling their desire to board the ship. </p><p>“Looks like we found ourselves a fourth passenger for our road trip,” Shiro says with a grin. </p><p>And Keith stumbles forward, up the gangway, before his arms wrap around the soft fur of his wolf another time as he kneels down before him. </p><p>“Thank you, buddy,” he says, quietly, only for the four of them to hear.</p><p>To give them some privacy, Shiro turns to the purple wolf. “Welcome on board, Nebula,” he greets her. </p><p>There’s a soft nudge against his mind, a familiar lull he’s not felt for years: It reminds him of Black’s voice in his head. It’s warm and gentle, humming, <em> Thank you, Shiro, </em> in waves of purple and lavender. </p><p>Shiro stares at the female space wolf in awe before he answers, <em> You’re welcome. </em></p><p><br/>*<br/><br/></p><p>When they lift off and leave Romulus 4, the planet slowly getting smaller where they watch it from the viewport of the ship, Keith’s hand finds Shiro’s. The two wolves lay at their feet, lost in each other.</p><p>“Once we’re back in Daibazaal, we need to get a bigger ship,” Keith says, bending his head to rest against Shiro’s shoulder.  </p><p>“You think we need more space? One wolf more shouldn’t be that much of a problem.” Shiro’s fingers squeeze lightly against Keith’s as Shiro places a kiss on Keith's temple.</p><p>“It’s fine for the four of us. But something tells me we should prepare for wolf pups zooming through our cockpit anytime soon.”</p><p>When he looks up at him, Keith’s smile is warm and beautiful.</p><p>Shiro presses a kiss to his knuckles.</p><p><br/>“I can’t wait.”<br/><br/>***</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can find me on <a href="https://www.twitter.com/dropsofautumn">Twitter</a>♡</p></blockquote></div></div>
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